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What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. The joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for.

It’s not other people’s concern and comments over socialization and “keeping up.” It’s not the worry that you’re doing it wrong. It’s not the moments when your kids are bored and trying to figure out what’s next. It’s not the constant work of making sure your kids have what they need to explore their various…

This right here is one of the things I love most about unschooling. Strengths are the focus and drive of our lives, not our weaknesses or struggles. Every weakness is a strength in disguise, and I believe that unschooling gives my children the chance to figure that out.

Most parents have an acutely tuned sense of responsibility–to the point where they consider relaxation and leisure, for themselves or their children, a self-indulgent luxury. By taking nature experience out of the leisure column and placing it in the health column, we are more likely to take our children on that hike–more likely to, well,…

Since moving from the suburbs, I haven’t written as much about how to make unschooling work there, but it is still very important to me. I vividly remember the extra creativity required to make it work in an environment that wasn’t quite as “natural” as the woods we now live in. Here are a few random…

Have you read this yet? This brilliant article discusses the “disease of being busy,” our culture’s obsession with activity and with accomplishing tasks on our to-do lists. When our own family found ourselves caught in the throes of being busy, we were incredibly unhappy. We were stressed and tense. Even after we started unschooling, it…

View of the Tetons from Sawtell Peak Trail. We were all a little summit hungry after Mt. Washburn. Wildflowers in bloom on Sawtell. So, we attempted another summit. Longer hike, less elevation gain. It seemed like a good balance. However, we arrived during what I can only describe as a massive swarm of bees and…

This. In this brilliant article, Bloomberg columnist Megan McArdle writes about a conversation with a young girl in 10th grade. This girl is so afraid of not getting an “A” that she is afraid to try anything new. In our current system of education, kids almost have to get a 4.0 to feel like they…

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. — Stephen R. Covey I’ve been thinking a lot about my life and my priorities lately…my life over the past few…

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.”

One thing that I have committed to myself, again and again, is allowing each interest and each possible topic or “subject” in my children’s learning to have equal weight. In the education of my children, I agree with Sir Ken Robinson that creativity is as important as literacy. Creativity can come into play in any…

Logan LaPlante on his unschooling (or “hackschooling,” as he calls it). It’s awesome to hear a child discussing his own education. And he’s right on. His ideas focus on a life of happiness, true happiness. He also discusses his future and his desires for his life.

About me

Welcome! I’m Ann. I’m blessed with one amazing husband and six incredible daughters. We have embraced unschooling, and this is a place to collect and share our thoughts with others who may be interested in a more natural way of learning for their family.